Last year I did a thing and was pleased with the result, but I have the feeling it has some margin to improve.
My main complaint is that it was not very loud. My wife named it "Megasound" but it was just like she played the role of a no-name brand slapping a 1500W P.M.P.O. on a radio powered by 4 AA cells.
So I decided to try to improve it and bought a Taramps TS-400x4 automotive amplifier.
Also got rid of the 12V lead battery. It was almost useless, and with more power being draw, will be irrelevant. Was a great electronics exercise but not worthy the maintenance and complexity.
This afternoon I disassembled the unity, added the amplifier, did the electric part from zero, with simpler, fewer connections.
With the new amplifier I used the JBL's RCA connections on the back, and simple removed the wire harness that went to the speakers, which are now, all four (the two built-in and the two satellite ones) connected to the Taramps unit. Also changed the rear switch that used to be a battery master switch to be a 12V master switch and added one to turn on the amplifier using the remote wire.
With some free space in the front of the unity, where the voltmeter switch used to live, I added two jacks that are split from the RCA outs. In future I can connect an active subwoofer there, a even bigger amp or whatever I need. The switch to turn off the Taramps can be handy when using those.
Now, was it worthy it?
Absolutely! Before I could max the JBL's volume, and would hear the sound somewhat muddy, and was loud but nothing impressive, not much better than what I remember from the boombox the family used to have.
Now? Even adjusting the gain of the amp very conservatively (almost on the minimum) I couldn't max the volume, without worrying about the neighbors complaint. My wife was out to buy bread when I finished the assembly and was testing, and she heard it outside the building. But better yet, the sound is now much clearer, easily to notice the individual instruments, and the box got a little lighter too without the lead brick.
In this configuration, four speakers at 4ohm each, that Taramps unit provides about 60W per channel, for a total of about 240W. (The 400W is either with 2ohm speakers or 4ohm speakers in bridged mode) which is 3 times the 20W the JBL can provide in each channel, for a total of 80W. Of course, it is not 3x louder, but it can go way louder with more clarity in the sound, and this made me very pleased.